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Oakland police Lt. Roland Holmgren speaks at a press conference to update the April 4, 2015, murder case of Emilio Nevarez, who was shot to death in front of a nightclub on 14th Street, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

There are some 2,000 unsolved killings in Oakland going back to the 1960s, according to the city.

In a number of older homicides, the perpetrators are probably long dead. Yet, there are still hundreds of unsolved cases from recent decades. Those killers are most likely either dead, behind bars for another crime, or, freely walking the streets.

The Oakland Police Department has a grand total of nine homicide detectives — including one who handles cold cases. It’s an impossible workload, even with recent FBI help.

The delicate job of triage falls to Lt. Roland Holmgren who heads the homicide division. Holmgren says investigators have their hands full with killings from 2013, 2014 and the fresh ones that occur like clockwork every few days. He must devote most of his resources to open homicides as opposed to cold cases, which makes perfect sense.

Yet at the same time, OPD has been trying to breathe new life into older cases. First, the department is reviewing homicides dating back to 1970 to see whether there was DNA or evidence that could be used to help solve those crimes using technology that wasn’t available then. Also, they’re using a full-court press in the media to get the details of unsolved cases out in front of the public and hopefully encourage witnesses to come forward.

“I’m trying to keep that energy alive on these cases on as many platforms as we can — social media, fliers and billboards, our website — to have this information consistently out there where someone says, ‘Hey, you know, I may know something about this,'” Holmgren says.

In June, Oakland Police officials held a news conference to announce a new initiative to reduce the number of unsolved homicides. Police used the occasion to highlight several cold cases. They also brought attention to the July 10, 2014, killing of Ayana Dominguez, which is not a cold case. Dominguez, 18, was fatally shot while she sat in a car with her boyfriend at a Wendy’s drive-through on International Boulevard in Fruitvale. He was wounded but survived. Dominguez, who had just graduated from Berkeley Technology Academy, was not the intended target, according to police.

Near the anniversary of her death, Dominguez’s parents pleaded for witnesses to contact Oakland police.

Police released a sketch of the shooting suspect. New media reports reminded the public how her life was senselessly snatched away doing something as innocuous as stopping for a fast-food meal.

Almost immediately, OPD started fielding calls from people who had seen the news coverage. Tips, according to police, led to two suspects being charged with murder and attempted murder.

Zaire Washington was shot and killed June 30, 2008, in East Oakland on his mother’s front steps. The case had gone unsolved for seven years. After his picture appeared on the OPD’s new cold case fliers, a suspect was arrested and charged with murder, according to police.

Police and some organizations that advocate for the families of homicide victims, credit the renewed public visibility for progress in those cases.

On Tuesday, police held a news conference with the parents and friends of Emiliano “Emilio” Nevarez, 26, who was fatally shot April 5 outside the The Golden Bull bar downtown. He was packing up his equipment when he was struck by a bullet that was also intended, police say, for someone else.

The police released a photograph of a suspect vehicle and of individuals who they believe were connected to the shooting. The hope is that some witnesses — among the many police say were there — will also come forward in this case.

Marilyn Harris has been waiting 15 years for whoever killed her son to be prosecuted.

Khadafy Washington, 18, was fatally shot behind McClymonds High School on Aug. 4, 2000. Police made some arrests but did not have enough evidence for the district attorney to prosecute, she said.

Washington is featured on the OPD cold case flyer.

Harris, who founded the Khadafy Washington Foundation for Non-Violence in her son’s memory, says the new Oakland police initiative is a good step but it is not enough. The police and community need to do much more to get information about unsolved homicides out to the public. I agree. We need visible billboards, not only to elicit information about the cases but also to afflict the comfortable.

“Hopefully, prayerfully, somebody out there will have their heart in the right place, and when they see those fliers will make a phone call,” Harris says. Hopefully indeed.